


benefits include medical, dental, and the most gorgeous man you’ve ever seen

by MagpieWords



Series: AUgust 2020 - Magpiewords [14]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Allison being a good sister, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves Friendship, Comedy, Fluff, Gen, Klaus being a disaster gay, M/M, Not Season 2 Compliant, Spoilers for Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26057821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieWords/pseuds/MagpieWords
Summary: "It’s not like I can hit on a customer. And the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen walked into the shop on my second day, what was I supposed to do?”If the first apocalypse was avoided, the members of the Umbrella Academy would still need to find something to do with their lives. And if Klaus never went back in time, the universe would still need to find some way to bring Dave into his life.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Series: AUgust 2020 - Magpiewords [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860265
Comments: 7
Kudos: 149
Collections: AUgust 2020





	benefits include medical, dental, and the most gorgeous man you’ve ever seen

**Author's Note:**

> It's coffee shop fluff, so im not responsible if the context doesn't 100% make sense. I imagine this to be an AU where almost everything in season one is the same, except the Commission doesn't exist? So Five finds his way back on his own, and without the threat of guns on the entire family, it might be easier to talk Vanya down before she blew up the moon.  
> Anyway, it's the same Dave, just what if maybe he was born in '89 instead of the '39.
> 
> Honestly, this fic became less about the ship and more about sibling interactions, but tbh i think i like it better like that.
> 
> Most importantly, I am sooo happy to have finally written something for this fandom! It was really fun!
> 
> This prompt is a joker replacing "single parent AU" for the AUgust challenge.

When Allison said he should be a working member of society, he thought she meant something along the lines of her career path. Klaus would make a great model, in his own humble opinion. Or maybe one of those late night TV comedians. So when Allison took him to the coffee shop just two blocks from the Umbrella Academy, Klaus figured she was buying him a drink before pitching a script to him.

“It’ll be good for you, Klaus.” She tried to reason with him when he walked right out the shop door once the manager tried to hand him an apron with a name tag.

“Really? Will it? Because something tells me the stressful environment of retail is not actually good for a recently clean drug addict. What if some suburban mom yells at me?” Klaus felt fidgety just at the thought.

“I can help with that,” Ben offered, still looking through the windows of the shop at their pastry selection.

“You’re not getting any cut of my check, Casper.”

“Ben’s here?” All of the Hargreeves siblings had been thrilled when Klaus confessed his best kept secret. It felt like the thing to do at the time, with Vanya coming off of the brink of insanity and everyone gathered together in the shambles of that orchestra concert. Ben had always been Vanya’s favorite.

“He’s always here,” Klaus rolled his eyes, the novelty having gone stale for him over a decade ago.

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about. Klaus, try it for a week, okay? If you hate it, I’ll help you find something else.”

“I don’t need your help, Allison.” He shouldn’t be mad at her, he knew that. She was just trying her best. But Klaus was pretty sure engaging in capitalism wasn’t the best way to avoid relapsing.

He watched his sister clench her fists, well known irritation rising along her cheekbones before she took a deep breath and let it fade away. The scar on her neck had faded over the last few months, but it was still jarring to see. She didn’t like fighting with her family, Klaus shouldn’t make her do this.

“I know you don’t. You got clean without help and that’s– I can’t imagine how hard that was. But Klaus, we all have things keeping us busy and I don’t like the idea of you bored and alone in that house all day.”

“I’m not alone,” he pointed out, gesturing to where Ben was. It was too early in the morning to manifest him fully, but even if Allison couldn’t see him, it wasn’t unusual for Klaus to gesture at nothing.

“Just try it? For me?” She didn’t need to rumor him, those pleading eyes were more than enough.

“Ugh, fine. But only one week!” He opened the door to the local coffee shop again, bell chiming overhead.

“Thank you, Klaus,” Allison all but sang.

“Yeah yeah, go enjoy pretending to be Brad Pitt’s wife, or whatever your new project is.”

Allison’s current project was filming for the next six week. Klaus hadn’t even realized all that time had passed when she walked into the shop, bell ringing above her. Her hair was different now, unstraightened and shorter since the last time he’d seen her

“Hey sis! About time you came to Raindrop Brews. What can I get you?”

Allison just stared at him for a moment, before grinning. “So I take it no one’s yelled at you yet?”

“Oh no, I’ve been yelled at plenty. Mostly by Ben when I’m running late.” Klaus flipped a canister of whipped cream behind his back and filled the top of a coffee mug with foam. “Seriously, you going to order something? Our house blend is actually pretty amazing.”

“Yeah, I’ll take whatever the barista recommends.” She was still grinning, staring at him a little strangely, but Klaus got to work on her drink. “So this seems to be working out?”

He stopped mid-pour as he processed what she said. He put the coffee mug down unfinished, and ducked his head into the kitchen to look at the kitten calendar the shop owner thought was cute.

“Was no one going to tell me it had been two months?” He shouted. 

“You’re going to deflate the puff pastries again if you keep yelling,” Ben said from his perch on the glass countertop above those pastries.

“Oh!” Allison must not have noticed him before, or maybe Klaus had forgotten to manifest him this morning. “Ben, it’s good to see you.”

Klaus turned back to the main section of the shop to see Ben offer a small wave to their sister. “Ugh, enough of this reunion nonsense. How did you two trick me into a job for this long?”

Allison shrugged, “I was busy.”

Ben didn’t offer anything better. “You looked like you were having fun. And the owner makes good waffles.”

Allison seemed to latch onto that idea. “Oh really?”

“Yeah,” Klaus admitted, “they’re very good waffles.”

“Not the waffles. You’re having fun? Like, this was maybe a good job for you?”

“You don’t need to be so smug about it!” The oven timer went off and Klaus dipped into the kitchen, coming back out with miraculously undeflated puff pastries. He slid them into the display case under Ben, who hopped off to steal one, only to be met with a smack from Klaus’s spatula. “I don’t know, it’s nice to have something to do with my hands. The job is low stress, Ben did yell at a suburban mom for me one time, and there’s no ghosts in the shop.”

“There’s one ghost in the shop,” Ben corrected.

Klaus ignored him, but paused with the tray of pastries only half emptied onto the display. He put the tray on the counter, let the spatula clatter down. “I think I might actually like working in a coffee shop.”

Allison didn’t say anything, just let herself linger with that smug look, tilting her head in that way she did. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever. You sure you didn’t rumor me into this?”

“Klaus!” She seemed genuinely hurt and Klaus flinched. Too soon for that joke.

“Sorry, sorry. I know you wouldn’t. Still, you have to admit it’s weird.” He finished with the pastries and dumped the half-started coffee into the sink, washing it out to start over.

Drowned out by the water, Allison leaned over to Ben. “Really though, how is he doing?”

Ben shrugged. “Like he said, good. Which is weird, but I’m not about to complain.” Allison raised an eyebrow and Ben grinned. “Okay, okay, there is something more going on here. Everyday, this one guy comes in and–”

The bell over the shop chimed and Klaus threw a greeting over his shoulder without turning around. “Welcome Raindrop Brews, I’ll be with you in just a second.”

“No rush, Ben knows my order.”

The cheerful voice made Klaus stand up straighter than Allison thought her brother was capable of. He dropped the mug he was washing, water splashing onto the counter. “Klaus?” Allison asked, but he ran into the kitchen.

“Hi Dave. The usual?” Ben was already on the barista side, reaching for a fresh mug to prepare this Dave’s coffee.

“Yes please. Is Klaus growing out his hair?”

Ben sighed, dramatics that Allison had missed. “Yeah.”

“Would you tell him I think it looks nice? I mean, the shorter cut looked good too– I mean, he’d look good in anything. Oh, that’s a bit forward, isn’t it?” Ben held up a hand and Dave stopped with a sheepish grin. “Right, too much.”

Ben rolled his eyes, even as a fond smile tugged at his lips, and got to work. Allison looked over this Dave character. If he was giving Klaus a hard time, Ben would be a lot less friendly, so that wasn’t the issue. He didn’t give Allison any bad vibes either; his button down and khakis were a bit bland for her taste (and for Klaus’s) but he was polite to baristas, which was admittedly more than she expected from most of humanity.

He seemed to notice her staring and gave her a warm smile. “I don’t think I’ve seen you at Raindrop before. If you haven’t ordered yet, I’d really recommend their peppermint mocha.”

Allison glanced back towards the chalkboard menu. “I don’t see that one on the list.”

“Oh, it was one of Klaus’s creations a few weeks back. He’s the other barista and he does something new every week. It was really good and I’m lucky enough that they haven’t run out of peppermint syrup yet.” The faint blush along Dave’s cheekbones told Allison everything she needed to know.

“And how do you know Klaus?”

The blush deepened. “My office moved down the block and I’ve been coming here ever since. He, uh, he’s usually busy in the kitchen but, uh…”

Allison nodded, trying not to smirk too sharply. “No, I get it. He’s single, you know.”

“He is?”

“Allison!” Klaus hissed through the sliver he’d opened in the door to the kitchen, waving his arm frantically.

“If you’d give me just one moment, Dave.” She gave him her best red carpet smile before hopping over the counter with ease and disappearing into the kitchen.

“What is your problem?” Klaus immediately dragged her through the kitchen, out back into an alleyway.

“And what is yours? I have never in my life seen you afraid to take to someone who wasn’t a cop.”

“I’m not afraid!” Klaus shoved his fidgeting hands in the pockets of his dark blue apron. The front of it was stained from the splash of water and coffee dregs. “He’s just…”

“Just?”

“Allison,” he whined instead of answering, but she could easily outwait any of her brothers. “Ugh, fine. I’m not scared but it’s not like I can hit on a customer. And the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen walked into the shop on my second day, what was I supposed to do?”

“Not hide in the kitchen and beg me for help.” Ben had joined them in the alley.

“He did what?”

“Ben,” Klaus whined again before his fidgeting stopped completely. “Wait, did you just leave Dave alone in the shop?”

“He’s here more than you are, he’ll be fine.” Ben turned his attention to Allison. “Dave walked in and Klaus all but shoved me at him. I didn’t even know how to use the espresso machine yet. And now Klaus lies to all the other customers that we’re out of peppermint so we always have some for Dave.”

“Don’t say his name like that.”

“That’s how you say it!” Ben shot back immediately. “All lovestruck.”

“I do not!”

“Klaus,” Allison heard enough of her siblings arguing at home, she did not want it everywhere she went. “You’re giving Ben a cut of your check since he’s doing your job, right?”

“Is that really the most important question right now?”

“No,” Ben answered, “he is not.”

“What are you going to do with it? I don’t think the ghost dollar exchange rate is very favorable right now.” Klaus smacked Ben’s arm, which was met with a slap of Ben’s own, and soon the two of them were fighting like children and Allison had to step between them.

“Enough! Klaus, don’t use Ben for free labor. Go back into that coffee shop and ask Dave out. Ben,” Allison paused, before deciding, “can you get us two waffles?”

Ben nodded and ducked back into the kitchen, while Klaus hesitated. “Allison, I don’t even know if he–”

“He is. He does. Go.”

“Fine!” He threw up his hands and went inside. By the time Allison and Ben had finished their waffles in the kitchen, Dave’s drink had long gone cold, sitting ignored by his elbow while he talked to Klaus across the counter.


End file.
